BCC's SpaceTec Gets $1.6 Million Worker Training Grant

A nationally recognized program that trains aerospace workers at Brevard Community College has received a $1.6 million federal grant to continue operating another four years.

The National Resource Center for Aerospace Technical Education — called SpaceTec — received the funds from the National Science Foundation.

The program has trained thousands of workers at Kennedy Space Center and is expanding its role to instruct workers in other fields since NASA ended the space shuttle program in 2011.

The areas include manufacturing, aviation and biotechnology in an effort to help the Brevard County economy and local businesses diversify.

SpaceTec is also training a new generation of aerospace workers for commercial space companies as they move toward launching NASA astronauts and private citizens into orbit on a new fleet of rockets by 2017.

“The grant is important to the college and Brevard because it allows the program to continue using its vaunted expertise to provide people with new skills in the post-shuttle era,” said BCC President, Dr. Jim Richey.

“Helping BCC students get good jobs upon graduation in the rapidly changing national and global economies is our top priority.”

Al Koller, SpaceTec’s managing director, called the grant “a significant win that ensures we can reach a wide range of people, including those who want space careers, others seeking new opportunities and returning veterans.”

SpaceTec is affiliated with the National Science Foundation and a national consortium of colleges, industries and business groups.

Last year, it moved from its long-time Kennedy Space Center home to a new location in Cape Canaveral to more easily serve workers, employers and the public.

BCC currently offers more than 100 two-year Associate Degrees and certificate programs and will start offering four-year Bachelor Degrees in August 2013 after becoming Eastern Florida State College on July 1.

For more information on SpaceTec, contact Managing Director Al Koller at kollera@brevardcc.edu or 321-890-0016. You can also visit the SpaceTec website at www.spacetec.org.